24 April 1997
Letter sent from NSS HQ to members of the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on VA-HUD-IA, House Science Committee, House
Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, just prior to floor debate
of H.R. 1275. The letter was sent attention of each office's
legislative assistant for space and science policy.

April 24, 1997

Dear Member of the 105th
Congress,

This week the U.S. House of
Representatives may consider the Civilian Space Authorization Act
(H.R. 1275).

NASA's FY 1997 budget is $13.7
billion ($14.07 in 1998 dollars). The Administration proposed to
cut funding for the space agency to $13.5 billion in FY 1998 -- a
$500 million decrease when adjustments are made for
inflation.

Just last week the House Science
Committee approved H.R. 1275, which authorizes budgets of $13.8
billion in FY 1998 and $13.9 billion in FY 1999. At these higher
levels, NASA still suffers a real decrease in spending, although
the rollback is less severe than that proposed by the
Administration.

The National Space Society strongly
endorses the Science Committee's efforts to boost spending for NASA
and to provide additional resources for space transportation and
space science. Traveling to space consumes a major portion of
NASA's budget. It costs upward of $10,000 per pound to reach orbit
today -- an exorbitant amount that inhibits the growth of space
commerce and exploration.

By increasing our investment in space
transportation, we can enhance research and development efforts to
lower the price tag for access to space, as well as increase safety
and reliability. NASA recently combined its Space Transportation
Technology program with the Aeronautics program. America has
continually made investments in aeronautics to develop new
technologies. As a consequence, our aeronautical industry is the
envy of the world. By applying the lessons learned in aeronautics
to space transportation, we will be able to achieve similar
successes and make significant reductions in launch vehicle
costs.

Each of the past five years, NASA's
budget has been reduced. The agency now spends 15 percent less than
in 1992. America must invest in science and engineering to maintain
its leadership in advanced technology and to keep our economy
healthy. NASA is a major component of our nation's investment in
the future. The Civilian Space Authorization Act for 1998 and 1999
is a step closer to stabilizing NASA's budget and to strategically
providing additional resources for space transportation and space
science.